I believe the CT Errata (including Sup3: Spinward Marches) explicitly notes that Regina is supposed to be TL12.
imperial culture
- Thread starter flykiller
- Start date
I believe the CT Errata (including Sup3: Spinward Marches) explicitly notes that Regina is supposed to be TL12.
trin used to be a healthy world. in some ways it still is.
trin's veil was the role-model for world development. the original colonists encountered no major ecological hindrances (BS-9) and suppressed no original inhabitants. while not terran norm the world was rich in resources easily accessed (RS-11). the people largely were culturally uniform, believing themselves chosen by god for greatness and setting to work achieving it technologically and economically and politically and demographically. trin has been inherently peaceful, enduring no serious political controversies or civil wars. on trin the technolgy, information, and cybernetic inflection points all came and were absorbed with no great crisis. as the population swelled trin's standing in and influence on the imperium grew. the steadfast and quietly positive character of the trins, their truthfulness and reliability and competence were, and still are, a mainstay of imperial commerce and imperial military strengh. for centuries all the scientific charts of trin's standing and progress have been uniformly trending up with no appreciable decline or break at any time.
in the last few generations trin character has become less positive and developed a tendency to fatalism. while their technological competence remains second to none, indeed their research is even accelerating, they seem less certain as to the purpose of that technology, and they seem less hopeful of their future. off all the populations in the spinward marches trins have been the least inclined to psionics, but in the last few decades active psionic suppression on trin has seen a need for increased activity and funding. with each generation their acceptance of cybernetics is increasing. for the first time in its history trin's population has ceased growing. the governmental structure is trending vaguely towards fascism, with the population vaguely resisting this trend.
while never celebrated for their leadership qualities trins are the steady workhorse of spinward marches business, military, and sustainment. while not selfless by any means their actions seem always, or have seemed, to reflect an emphasis on the larger picture and the greater society. one particular facet of their character which stands out is that they never retreat in the face of any challenge. they never quit and they never give up. they respond to orders to withdraw or to circumstances that can be improved, and they are quite capable of maneuver and starting over, but trins are famous for negotiating for days on end and for their last stands and for dying at their posts. while their fatalism is rising they still drive towards an endless view of eventual success now by them or in the future by others.
trin's veil was the role-model for world development. the original colonists encountered no major ecological hindrances (BS-9) and suppressed no original inhabitants. while not terran norm the world was rich in resources easily accessed (RS-11). the people largely were culturally uniform, believing themselves chosen by god for greatness and setting to work achieving it technologically and economically and politically and demographically. trin has been inherently peaceful, enduring no serious political controversies or civil wars. on trin the technolgy, information, and cybernetic inflection points all came and were absorbed with no great crisis. as the population swelled trin's standing in and influence on the imperium grew. the steadfast and quietly positive character of the trins, their truthfulness and reliability and competence were, and still are, a mainstay of imperial commerce and imperial military strengh. for centuries all the scientific charts of trin's standing and progress have been uniformly trending up with no appreciable decline or break at any time.
in the last few generations trin character has become less positive and developed a tendency to fatalism. while their technological competence remains second to none, indeed their research is even accelerating, they seem less certain as to the purpose of that technology, and they seem less hopeful of their future. off all the populations in the spinward marches trins have been the least inclined to psionics, but in the last few decades active psionic suppression on trin has seen a need for increased activity and funding. with each generation their acceptance of cybernetics is increasing. for the first time in its history trin's population has ceased growing. the governmental structure is trending vaguely towards fascism, with the population vaguely resisting this trend.
while never celebrated for their leadership qualities trins are the steady workhorse of spinward marches business, military, and sustainment. while not selfless by any means their actions seem always, or have seemed, to reflect an emphasis on the larger picture and the greater society. one particular facet of their character which stands out is that they never retreat in the face of any challenge. they never quit and they never give up. they respond to orders to withdraw or to circumstances that can be improved, and they are quite capable of maneuver and starting over, but trins are famous for negotiating for days on end and for their last stands and for dying at their posts. while their fatalism is rising they still drive towards an endless view of eventual success now by them or in the future by others.
Those seem to be a good start.
When Traveller was first written, transhumanism was not the coolest thing on the block nor the primary audience who the game was written for. By our time now, yes it is popular, but you are swimming against 30+ years of other writing.
In the OTU based on T4 Psionics Institutes, it is suggested that the attitude might have swung more to your liking or were back then
Had it not been for the Frontier Wars, the involvement of Zhodani in Psionics Institutes in the late 700's, Imperial reaction and the resultant psychohistorical disaster in the 800s. So now in 1105 we have what we have.
Not all is lost in this regard. By the time of TNE and 1248, things swung back. After all Norris' later advisor after Virus was psionic...and there is the Zhodani Concord.
Oh, that reminds me.
5.Imperial Holidays:
New Years Day
Emperor's Birthday
and
6.Nonhuman lifeforms are equal to humans under the law, but robots are not
There was a reference in T4 about the Imperial Starburst not having an official color. It used to, but some nonhuman species were not impressed when visiting the Emperor, so the Emperor declared there be no official color from that point.
On robots however, the terrorist attack against the Sylean Confederation in -112 created the Shudasham Concords which set the tone on the treatment of robots. From CT Book 8 Robots, Ammendment 37:
and
This also does not change until the Star Vikings and of course in 1248 once things settle down and Virus/Cyms become accepted.
Gotta have a sense of history...
maybe. but if the discussion here is any indication, the 30+ years of writing is noble-level politics. which is fine, but it's not "why do joe and jane spacer from planet podunk do what they do" culture. question: in 30+ years has anything been written about trin, it's people and worldview and way of doing business, before? I really don't know. it seems to be a major world worthy of major address.
and another question. is anyone finding what I've written about mora and trin useful or helpful? if so I'll continue.
well, ok.
in the meantime here's a chart for determining cultural quirks on the fly. d6d6/2d6
CULTURAL PRACTICES
11) Religion
2 derided/ignored/banned/persecuted
3-5 deemphasized/weak
6-8 moderate view
9-11 influential
12 fanatic/mandatory
12) Religious Tolerance
2 none
3-5 bare tolerance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 church shopping
12 "there is no truth"
13) Human Body
2 loathed
3-5 disliked
6-8 moderate view
9-11 enthusiastically appreciated
12 flaunted/displayed
14) Sex
2 loathed/banned
3-5 disliked/deemphasized
6-8 moderate view
9-11 enthusiastically enjoyed
12 flaunted/mandatory
15) Technology
2 shunned
3-5 disliked
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively pushed
12 pursued at all costs
16) Art
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little interest
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 defining of existence
21) Education
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little interest
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 defining of existence
22) Food
2 sparse eating
3-5 lean eating
6-8 moderate consumption
9-11 hearty feeding
12 gluttonous
23) Money
2 deprecated/dismissed
3-5 used occasionally
6-8 moderate use
9-11 major pursuit
12 sole pursuit
24) Fame
2 ignored/deprecated/ostracized
3-5 some influence
6-8 moderate influence
9-11 greatly desired
12 defining of existence
25) Social/Cultural/Religious Change
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little sought
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 mandatory/enforced/driven
26) Same-Species Races
2 fully racist
3-5 race-averse
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively welcoming/accepting
12 mandatory contact/welcome/acceptance
31) Alien Races
2 fully racist
3-5 race-averse
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively welcoming/accepting
12 mandatory contact/welcome/acceptance
32) Crime
2 prevented at all costs
3-5 harsh punishments/active suppression
6-8 moderate view
9-11 tolerated
12 celebrated
33) Caste/Heritage
2 no inheritance/royalty of any kind
3-5 slight caste/heritage influence
6-8 moderate view
9-11 strong caste/heritage
12 oligarchy/royalty in all things
34) Women
2 chattel/furniture/impediments
3-5 fully subservient
6-8 moderate view
9-11 cherished/respected/sought
12 goddesses/gynarchy
35) Alcohol/Drugs
2 banned/prosecuted at all costs
3-5 deprecated/ghettoized
6-8 moderate view
9-11 celebrated/enjoyed
12 mandatory
36) War/Hostilities
2 radical pacifism
3-5 reluctance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 gung-ho
12 celebrated/mandatory
41) Self-Defense
2 enforced pacifism
3-5 bare tolerance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 very popular
12 mandatory
42) Economic Policy
2 lazy faire (sp)
3-5 some regulations
6-8 moderate view
9-11 massive state control
12 total state control
43) Pets
2 banned/prosecuted
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 pet crazy
12 mandatory
44) Honor
2 no honor
3-5 slight/occasional honor
6-8 moderate honor
9-11 high honor
12 exquisite/intolerant honor
45) Nature
2 disregard
3-5 little regard
6-8 moderate view
9-11 high regard
12 "nature good / man bad"
46) Gambling
2 derided/banned
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 widely practiced
12 mandatory
51) Sports/Entertainment
2 derided/banned
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 excessive enthusiasm
12 fanaticism
52) Fashion
2 none
3-5 acknowledged
6-8 moderate view
9-11 excessive enthusiasm
12 mandatory
53) Politics
2 ignored/disregarded/avoided
3-5 some political attention
6-8 average interest
9-11 closely followed
12 hero worship / extreme fanaticism
54) Work
2 outright lazy/slothful
3-5 desultory/"tomorrow"
6-8 good workers
9-11 hard workers
12 workaholics
55) Slavery
2 banned / missionary opposition
3-5 banned locally, ignored elsewhere
6-8 some minor slavery/indenturement tolerated
9-11 slavery/indenturement
12 pervasive large-scale slavery/indenturement
56) Social Regimentation
2 no ettiquette, no courtesy. autistic.
3-5 few social rules.
6-8 average orderliness
9-11 extensive order/rules/expectations
12 every interaction rigidly formalized
61) Weapons (31)
2 none permitted / aggressive enforcement
3-5 (some weapons) and/or (some people) permitted
6-8 weapons tolerated
9-11 extensive weapons culture
12 mandatory
62) Killing (as distinct from criminal murder)
2 forbidden/prosecuted/censored in all cases
3-5 aggressively derided/deprecated
6-8 tolerated
9-11 popular
12 celebrated/admired/sought
63) Living Environment
2 extreme/mandatory naturalism
3-5 naturalism preferred
6-8 average balance betwee natural and artificial
9-11 artificialism preferred
12 extreme/mandatory artificialism
64) Property
2 property never possessed / owned communally
3-5 some private ownership
6-8 mixed private/public ownership
9-11 little communal ownership
12 all property strictly private
65) Competition
2 banned/derided/deprecated
3-5 slight competition
6-8 regulated competition
9-11 strong and decisive competition
12 fierce/dangerous competition
66)Procreation
2 natural procreation repudiated/banned
3-5 natural procreation discouraged
6-8 no procreational preferences
9-11 artificial procreation discouraged
12 artificial procreation banned
in the meantime here's a chart for determining cultural quirks on the fly. d6d6/2d6
CULTURAL PRACTICES
11) Religion
2 derided/ignored/banned/persecuted
3-5 deemphasized/weak
6-8 moderate view
9-11 influential
12 fanatic/mandatory
12) Religious Tolerance
2 none
3-5 bare tolerance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 church shopping
12 "there is no truth"
13) Human Body
2 loathed
3-5 disliked
6-8 moderate view
9-11 enthusiastically appreciated
12 flaunted/displayed
14) Sex
2 loathed/banned
3-5 disliked/deemphasized
6-8 moderate view
9-11 enthusiastically enjoyed
12 flaunted/mandatory
15) Technology
2 shunned
3-5 disliked
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively pushed
12 pursued at all costs
16) Art
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little interest
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 defining of existence
21) Education
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little interest
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 defining of existence
22) Food
2 sparse eating
3-5 lean eating
6-8 moderate consumption
9-11 hearty feeding
12 gluttonous
23) Money
2 deprecated/dismissed
3-5 used occasionally
6-8 moderate use
9-11 major pursuit
12 sole pursuit
24) Fame
2 ignored/deprecated/ostracized
3-5 some influence
6-8 moderate influence
9-11 greatly desired
12 defining of existence
25) Social/Cultural/Religious Change
2 derided/ignored/banned
3-5 little sought
6-8 moderate view
9-11 highly sought
12 mandatory/enforced/driven
26) Same-Species Races
2 fully racist
3-5 race-averse
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively welcoming/accepting
12 mandatory contact/welcome/acceptance
31) Alien Races
2 fully racist
3-5 race-averse
6-8 moderate view
9-11 actively welcoming/accepting
12 mandatory contact/welcome/acceptance
32) Crime
2 prevented at all costs
3-5 harsh punishments/active suppression
6-8 moderate view
9-11 tolerated
12 celebrated
33) Caste/Heritage
2 no inheritance/royalty of any kind
3-5 slight caste/heritage influence
6-8 moderate view
9-11 strong caste/heritage
12 oligarchy/royalty in all things
34) Women
2 chattel/furniture/impediments
3-5 fully subservient
6-8 moderate view
9-11 cherished/respected/sought
12 goddesses/gynarchy
35) Alcohol/Drugs
2 banned/prosecuted at all costs
3-5 deprecated/ghettoized
6-8 moderate view
9-11 celebrated/enjoyed
12 mandatory
36) War/Hostilities
2 radical pacifism
3-5 reluctance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 gung-ho
12 celebrated/mandatory
41) Self-Defense
2 enforced pacifism
3-5 bare tolerance
6-8 moderate view
9-11 very popular
12 mandatory
42) Economic Policy
2 lazy faire (sp)
3-5 some regulations
6-8 moderate view
9-11 massive state control
12 total state control
43) Pets
2 banned/prosecuted
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 pet crazy
12 mandatory
44) Honor
2 no honor
3-5 slight/occasional honor
6-8 moderate honor
9-11 high honor
12 exquisite/intolerant honor
45) Nature
2 disregard
3-5 little regard
6-8 moderate view
9-11 high regard
12 "nature good / man bad"
46) Gambling
2 derided/banned
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 widely practiced
12 mandatory
51) Sports/Entertainment
2 derided/banned
3-5 tolerated
6-8 moderate view
9-11 excessive enthusiasm
12 fanaticism
52) Fashion
2 none
3-5 acknowledged
6-8 moderate view
9-11 excessive enthusiasm
12 mandatory
53) Politics
2 ignored/disregarded/avoided
3-5 some political attention
6-8 average interest
9-11 closely followed
12 hero worship / extreme fanaticism
54) Work
2 outright lazy/slothful
3-5 desultory/"tomorrow"
6-8 good workers
9-11 hard workers
12 workaholics
55) Slavery
2 banned / missionary opposition
3-5 banned locally, ignored elsewhere
6-8 some minor slavery/indenturement tolerated
9-11 slavery/indenturement
12 pervasive large-scale slavery/indenturement
56) Social Regimentation
2 no ettiquette, no courtesy. autistic.
3-5 few social rules.
6-8 average orderliness
9-11 extensive order/rules/expectations
12 every interaction rigidly formalized
61) Weapons (31)
2 none permitted / aggressive enforcement
3-5 (some weapons) and/or (some people) permitted
6-8 weapons tolerated
9-11 extensive weapons culture
12 mandatory
62) Killing (as distinct from criminal murder)
2 forbidden/prosecuted/censored in all cases
3-5 aggressively derided/deprecated
6-8 tolerated
9-11 popular
12 celebrated/admired/sought
63) Living Environment
2 extreme/mandatory naturalism
3-5 naturalism preferred
6-8 average balance betwee natural and artificial
9-11 artificialism preferred
12 extreme/mandatory artificialism
64) Property
2 property never possessed / owned communally
3-5 some private ownership
6-8 mixed private/public ownership
9-11 little communal ownership
12 all property strictly private
65) Competition
2 banned/derided/deprecated
3-5 slight competition
6-8 regulated competition
9-11 strong and decisive competition
12 fierce/dangerous competition
66)Procreation
2 natural procreation repudiated/banned
3-5 natural procreation discouraged
6-8 no procreational preferences
9-11 artificial procreation discouraged
12 artificial procreation banned
My tentative explanation for why Imperial culture is similar to 21st Century Western culture (the in-setting explanation, that is), is that the Sylean Federation was the cultural heir of the Rule of Man which in turn was the cultural heir of the Terran Confederation which in turn was the cultural heir of the United Nations. When the Imperium took over from the Federation, it managed to put across the notion that democracy was a great idea, but unfortunately didn't work at the interstellar level above the subsector or possibly the sector. That left the Imperium able to talk the talk without having to walk the walk. So the Imperium teaches its people and especially the people of its services that democracy and human rights and all that stuff is GREAT! It's just too bad that we can't use democracy and can't interfere with the internal affairs of member nations. But it's great, it really is. Honest!
The only pre-Rebellion writeup I know of is a larger-than-average writeup in BtC, still only a few paragraphs.
It is, but by happenstance no one has gotten around to doing much about it.
My fact file about Trin is pretty scanty:
In 1109 Trin houses a major SuSAG facility. [JTAS #16, p. 22]
The HQ of Baraccai Technum is on Trin. [L:4]
ISMM Corporation maintains a computer software laboratory dedicated to the advancement of the computer sciences. They run at least one real-time virtual-reality computer game with specially constructed "experience tanks" where people can spend weeks while experiencing a computer-generated reality. [Thieves' World, personalities of sanctuary_, p. 50]
There is a 'Torri Institute' on Trin. Silenia Stensen, a journalism professor from the institute won the Digest Touring Award in 1114. [IE:22]
DD 3235 Trin (Imperial) Subsector Capital
Starport: Class V.
Diameter: 8.216 miles (13,220 km). Atmosphere: Dense oxygen-nitrogen, tainted by airborne dust particles. Surface water: 44%. Climate: Cool. Population: 22,000,000,000. Government: Bureacracy. Control Rating: 3. TL:
12.
One of the original ports of the Marches, Trin was a major starting point for the exploration of the sector. The moon system of the gas giant Orslei still has the remains of some of the base camps and refuelling stations built by corporations unwilling to pay to use the starport. Fuel refineries orbit the gas giant, shipping their produce to the starport. The system has no planetoid belts, though there are colonies and other installations on the various worlds of the system. Most notable of these is the impressive manufacturing and shipping centre on the iceball world of LSP Spinward - a world named when Ling set up an installation there during the early 400's. The installation has grown into a major manufacturing center with its own private spaceport (closed to non-Ling vessels) and a colonial population of some 12,000.
The inner-orbit world of Scorcher was originally colonized as a mining operation to extract heavy metals and radioactives. Over the centuries Scorcher City has grown into a vast underground sprawl housing some 31 million. Heavy industry at Scorcher City exports produce through Trin Highport.
Trin itself has no moons (the remains of one is now a cloud of reflective debris that gives the subsector its name). Much of Trin is chilly semi-desert. A broad belt of land around the equator is given over to vast farms, which try to provide fresh produce to the world's citizens. Even with advanced farming techniques, much of the staple diet of the citizens of Trin is textured fungus products from battery farms. Trin imports considerable quantities of foodstuffs from other, more fertile worlds.
Trin sees a great deal of trade and other shipping pass through its impressive Highport. The government of the world reflects this interest in trade, being an outgrown of the old Trin Settlement and Trade Board.
The Trade Board (as the government is now known) is headed by Duchess Mirai of Trin, head of the House of Arahailli, which has ruled Trin through the board since the world was settled.
Government is extremely streamlined and efficient, being run on almost corporate lines. Particular attention is paid to keeping up with technological advances. Though Trin has little in the way of research facilities, the Trade Board funds technological development on other worlds and invests wisely, gaining new advances and techniques as quickly as they become availaible.
The world's citizens enjoy a very high-technology lifestyle, and mostly share the desire for efficiency expressed by the rulers. The result is a highly motivated and efficient workforce, very wealthy by most worlds' standards. [BtC: ]
(Note on the last entry: This is the RTU (Rebellionless Traveller Universe
) anno 1020; the TL is GTL).
The HQ of Baraccai Technum is on Trin. [L:4]
ISMM Corporation maintains a computer software laboratory dedicated to the advancement of the computer sciences. They run at least one real-time virtual-reality computer game with specially constructed "experience tanks" where people can spend weeks while experiencing a computer-generated reality. [Thieves' World, personalities of sanctuary_, p. 50]
There is a 'Torri Institute' on Trin. Silenia Stensen, a journalism professor from the institute won the Digest Touring Award in 1114. [IE:22]
DD 3235 Trin (Imperial) Subsector Capital
Starport: Class V.
Diameter: 8.216 miles (13,220 km). Atmosphere: Dense oxygen-nitrogen, tainted by airborne dust particles. Surface water: 44%. Climate: Cool. Population: 22,000,000,000. Government: Bureacracy. Control Rating: 3. TL:
12.
One of the original ports of the Marches, Trin was a major starting point for the exploration of the sector. The moon system of the gas giant Orslei still has the remains of some of the base camps and refuelling stations built by corporations unwilling to pay to use the starport. Fuel refineries orbit the gas giant, shipping their produce to the starport. The system has no planetoid belts, though there are colonies and other installations on the various worlds of the system. Most notable of these is the impressive manufacturing and shipping centre on the iceball world of LSP Spinward - a world named when Ling set up an installation there during the early 400's. The installation has grown into a major manufacturing center with its own private spaceport (closed to non-Ling vessels) and a colonial population of some 12,000.
The inner-orbit world of Scorcher was originally colonized as a mining operation to extract heavy metals and radioactives. Over the centuries Scorcher City has grown into a vast underground sprawl housing some 31 million. Heavy industry at Scorcher City exports produce through Trin Highport.
Trin itself has no moons (the remains of one is now a cloud of reflective debris that gives the subsector its name). Much of Trin is chilly semi-desert. A broad belt of land around the equator is given over to vast farms, which try to provide fresh produce to the world's citizens. Even with advanced farming techniques, much of the staple diet of the citizens of Trin is textured fungus products from battery farms. Trin imports considerable quantities of foodstuffs from other, more fertile worlds.
Trin sees a great deal of trade and other shipping pass through its impressive Highport. The government of the world reflects this interest in trade, being an outgrown of the old Trin Settlement and Trade Board.
The Trade Board (as the government is now known) is headed by Duchess Mirai of Trin, head of the House of Arahailli, which has ruled Trin through the board since the world was settled.
Government is extremely streamlined and efficient, being run on almost corporate lines. Particular attention is paid to keeping up with technological advances. Though Trin has little in the way of research facilities, the Trade Board funds technological development on other worlds and invests wisely, gaining new advances and techniques as quickly as they become availaible.
The world's citizens enjoy a very high-technology lifestyle, and mostly share the desire for efficiency expressed by the rulers. The result is a highly motivated and efficient workforce, very wealthy by most worlds' standards. [BtC: ]
(Note on the last entry: This is the RTU (Rebellionless Traveller Universe
) anno 1020; the TL is GTL).
Also note, my files for that end of the Marches are not as complete as for other parts.
Hans
I liked the descriptions of Mora and Trin, please do continue.
Going back to an earlier post about characters seeking out psionics institutes and going transhuman, I think what player characters do and what the average citizen of the Imperium does is often very different.
My various groups over the years have always reacted negatively to psionics. My first and penultimate groups put it across best: They were all born and bred in the Spinward Marches and psionics are a characteristic of "them", the enemy, the Zhodani. "Brainsuckers" as the original group leader put it. To seek out an institute was to collaborate with the enemy. I think that is very much part of the Imperial Spinward Marches culture.
As for other transhuman aspects, I took the lead from the core material: You didn't meet many cyborgs or those with bionics in the printed material. I had bionics in my games, but they were mostly used by people who had lost limbs through warfare or accidents. The idea of chopping yourself up just to graft technology on you to give an "edge" seemed to belong to another popular RPG of the 1990s. Some characters and NPCs might do that, but probably not Joe Imperium.
Going back to an earlier post about characters seeking out psionics institutes and going transhuman, I think what player characters do and what the average citizen of the Imperium does is often very different.
My various groups over the years have always reacted negatively to psionics. My first and penultimate groups put it across best: They were all born and bred in the Spinward Marches and psionics are a characteristic of "them", the enemy, the Zhodani. "Brainsuckers" as the original group leader put it. To seek out an institute was to collaborate with the enemy. I think that is very much part of the Imperial Spinward Marches culture.
As for other transhuman aspects, I took the lead from the core material: You didn't meet many cyborgs or those with bionics in the printed material. I had bionics in my games, but they were mostly used by people who had lost limbs through warfare or accidents. The idea of chopping yourself up just to graft technology on you to give an "edge" seemed to belong to another popular RPG of the 1990s. Some characters and NPCs might do that, but probably not Joe Imperium.
Wouldn't it be Sophont not Human? And a tie in with OTU Profile stats is probably needed.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Heh, that's not a table, that's a psych profile!
Those tables (as those in MT:WHB) are nice to show cultural quirks and differences with the standard cultural traits, and the steretipical traits that would be quoted by people when talking about them, but is this standard culture that is not described for the imperium.
As I already said, culture implies many things (what is usually refered as folklore), as legends, customs, music, dances, slang, etc., and is preciselly this folklore that I don't believe to exist at Imperial level.
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I think this is where the discussion of "Imperial Culture" falls down.
Culture encompasses folklore, yes, and legends, music, dance, slang, fashion, popular crazes and lots of other detail.
But culture is defined as the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.
These are big ideas, that should be painted in wide strokes across all of Imperial space (and beyond Imperial where Imperial culture is a major influence).
I don't think we're ever going to know the exact myths and stories that might make up an Imperial folklore, but we could say that Imperial folklore emphasizes the importance of the feudal contract, or the dangers of psionics etc.
In short; why are we talking about details that will vary from planet to planet and not about the big picture of things that are common across the Imperium?
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Imperial government starts at the subsector level - at least on the frontier. So that is where you go looking for Imperial cultural tropes in places like the Spinward Marches.
Note, the Imperium does lay claim to whole worlds in the SM though.
As you move through the sectors heading inwards towards the old Sylean Federation worlds you should have a lot more worlds directly ruled by the Imperial government/noble houses/megacorporations - less home rule provision.
This was not the model developed by the various Traveller mapping projects, instead rng rules over the common sense of deliberate setting design.
If you want an Imperial culture then you have to re-boot the setting, starting by detailing the core worlds/sectors and moving outwards.
Note, the Imperium does lay claim to whole worlds in the SM though.
As you move through the sectors heading inwards towards the old Sylean Federation worlds you should have a lot more worlds directly ruled by the Imperial government/noble houses/megacorporations - less home rule provision.
This was not the model developed by the various Traveller mapping projects, instead rng rules over the common sense of deliberate setting design.
If you want an Imperial culture then you have to re-boot the setting, starting by detailing the core worlds/sectors and moving outwards.
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Imperial culture would be rooted in the culture of Capital the same way that the culture of the British Empire was rooted in the English culture. You would find Imperial culture in the remotest outposts as well as in the subsector capitals. Each member world would have a community of Imperial expatriates, large or small as the case might be, that upheld Imperial culture on their respective worlds. Some member worlds would have cultures not too far from the Imperial norm, others would be radically different. But even the worlds with the most diffferent cultures would have its Imperial enclave, if necessary inside the extrality fence.
But those would not be worlds with membership charters. When and if the Imperium chose to grant a membership charter, it would relinquish direct control of that world.
Except that the basic principle of the Imperium is 'no direct control of member worlds', and a lot of powerful member worlds that would resent any hint of a change surround Capital.
Hans
Perhaps, perhaps not. Earth has a charter, but is under direct Imperial Marine Corps Occupation. In no small part because the charter was violated. The charter need not release to exist. It could be as simple as providing for direct noble rule over the fiefs. (as exemplified by IIRC Zila)
Dedicated fief worlds, where the whole world is nought but fiefs, and no overall government exists, make for interesting patchworks....
Some of the balkanized worlds probably are fief-worlds, especially as one approaches Capital, Vland, and Dingir.
Terra is a special case, and presumably its charter was suspended during the occupation.
It does, unless it is going to violate article 1 of the Warrant of Restoration.
Zila is governed by a participitating democracy. Are you thinking about Aramis?
I'm not quite sure what governmental arrangement you're talking about, but a world that was run by an Imperial noble would presumably not have a membership charter.
Part or parts of balkanized worlds could be Imperial fiefs. But then, such a world would not have an overall charter for the entire world but charters for the individual member nations.
Hans
on fornice there is only one relevant question: are you of the green faction or the blue faction?
hard competition, both team and individual, is how the people on fornice live. there they take the concept of "survival of the fittest" very seriously. while they disdain outright killing and the concept of total war or victory as such at all costs they see the struggle, the attempt to dominate and win, as defining of human existence and illustrative of the human will to exist. the baseline consideration in any competition is that the opponent must remain free to act to their full capacity - assassination, sabotage, and other forms of undermining are despised - and must be defeated "fair and square", any other method is seen as being at odds with truth and reality. both males and females compete (in fact in some ways these two groups form two more factions that cross between the green and the blue), if not always against each other then frequently in parallel, with the females having the additional field of demographics and child production.
all of forny society is organized into nested and sometimes interlocking teams, the whole of which are loosely resolved into two planet-wide factions - the green and the blue. these are loosely associeted with two halves of the planet but members and teams of both factions can be found throughout fornice. within these factions are internal teams which incorporate yet more internal teams - corporations, industries, research, schools, farm co-ops, agencies, cities, families, and individuals.
while competition is widespread throughout the civil, business, scholastic, and service sectors it is in sports that it finds full-throated expression. most original terran, most new solomani, the tiny handful of vilani, and some of the curious zhodani sports, along with many specific to fornice, are all closely followed by millions of fanatics, with the most popular having literally billions of adherents.
and not only the field participants compete, but also the fanatics in the audience spaces compete with each other in parades, demonstrations, shout-downs, and morale expositions. media and businesses get in on the action according to their team and factional loyalties, and whole cities will shut down for major decision events. most other worlds have their sports fans but forny fanatics' celebrations in the stands and on the streets and in the spaceports are awesome to behold. more than one inbound spaceship has found the fornice port authority a little slow to respond during big games, and many major shipping firms time their arrivals around such events.
the actual sports involved range from mildly hazardous to last-man-standing fatal. by far the most popular is the tactical team marathon, played out in the open in fornice's low g environment, involving the full range of survival fitness - personal strength, personal agility, personal stamina, personal battle skill, personal intelligence, and teamwork, all oriented towards, not just wounding or killing, but achieving a goal before the other team. forny's have been playing this game for centuries and have an entire museum dedicated to past marathons, the glorious winners and the honored losers who fought to the bitter end and never quit. another game popular not only on fornice but throughout the spinward marches is grav bike knights, famous for its color and pomp and ceremony and chivalry and viciously violent action seen from cameras mounted on the helmets and bikes and lance points of the participants. one of the more curious is battle curling, based on the ancient terran "sport" of curling, where the participants not only compete in who gets their stone across the finish line first but also engage each other more directly on the ice with quarterstaves, ranging from hollow plastic poles to heavy oak clubs. not many males play this one but the females seem to love it. this game is more spectated off fornice than on it, probably because ... well, because it's funny to watch them fall on their ass on the ice and chase each other's stones, trying to move their own and hinder their opponent's while thwacking away at each other. also fornice is part of the moran march and for centuries the moran males have come to fornice to participate in the cage fights. so far the moran males have won 51% of the matches but this ratio has been declining for a century. every such fight is accompanied by literally hundreds of thousands of fornys chanting "THIS YEAR THIS YEAR THIS YEAR THIS YEAR ...."
fornice is run by a civil service bureaucracy called the referee board. in general that is exactly what they do - referee the forny competitors in all aspects of their lives. the fornys don't respect their referees - "those who can't do, ref" - but acknowledge the necessity of them. when a corporation gets too big or a university monopolizes certain fields of study or a sports team becomes too dominant or a family becomes too influential and controlling the referees often move to break up the entity to encourage free competition.
fornys consider the rest of the spinward marches to be a little soft, if exciting at times. in the imperial services and merchant marine operations they are always driving very hard to dominate, to win, to win according to the rules, and to win well. they function equally well as lone individuals (though hoping for an audience and feeling free to advertise themselves) and as team players. they tend to be a bit fast-moving, gaudy, and flashy, and proud of it. if other fornys are around they will coalesce into their various homebound factions and teams, including their one big team of fornice in the face of any threat to all of them. females may tend to look for big strapping intelligent males to father children they can bring home to, and show off at, fornice.
many fornys talk openly of the need for psionic games on fornice. the zhodani, however, they view as poisonous vermin that need to be eliminated at every opportunity. in the imperial navy and marines on the zhodani frontier no-one is more attentive to their duties in opposing the zhodani than the citizens of fornice.
some fornys rebel against fornice's materialist competitive environment and leave to form cooperative communes or other non-competitive social structures. in particular are the "formers", fornys who have developed space merchant communes who roam the spinward marches like gypsies, sharing their ships and families as they make their living through non-competitive trade.
hard competition, both team and individual, is how the people on fornice live. there they take the concept of "survival of the fittest" very seriously. while they disdain outright killing and the concept of total war or victory as such at all costs they see the struggle, the attempt to dominate and win, as defining of human existence and illustrative of the human will to exist. the baseline consideration in any competition is that the opponent must remain free to act to their full capacity - assassination, sabotage, and other forms of undermining are despised - and must be defeated "fair and square", any other method is seen as being at odds with truth and reality. both males and females compete (in fact in some ways these two groups form two more factions that cross between the green and the blue), if not always against each other then frequently in parallel, with the females having the additional field of demographics and child production.
all of forny society is organized into nested and sometimes interlocking teams, the whole of which are loosely resolved into two planet-wide factions - the green and the blue. these are loosely associeted with two halves of the planet but members and teams of both factions can be found throughout fornice. within these factions are internal teams which incorporate yet more internal teams - corporations, industries, research, schools, farm co-ops, agencies, cities, families, and individuals.
while competition is widespread throughout the civil, business, scholastic, and service sectors it is in sports that it finds full-throated expression. most original terran, most new solomani, the tiny handful of vilani, and some of the curious zhodani sports, along with many specific to fornice, are all closely followed by millions of fanatics, with the most popular having literally billions of adherents.
and not only the field participants compete, but also the fanatics in the audience spaces compete with each other in parades, demonstrations, shout-downs, and morale expositions. media and businesses get in on the action according to their team and factional loyalties, and whole cities will shut down for major decision events. most other worlds have their sports fans but forny fanatics' celebrations in the stands and on the streets and in the spaceports are awesome to behold. more than one inbound spaceship has found the fornice port authority a little slow to respond during big games, and many major shipping firms time their arrivals around such events.
the actual sports involved range from mildly hazardous to last-man-standing fatal. by far the most popular is the tactical team marathon, played out in the open in fornice's low g environment, involving the full range of survival fitness - personal strength, personal agility, personal stamina, personal battle skill, personal intelligence, and teamwork, all oriented towards, not just wounding or killing, but achieving a goal before the other team. forny's have been playing this game for centuries and have an entire museum dedicated to past marathons, the glorious winners and the honored losers who fought to the bitter end and never quit. another game popular not only on fornice but throughout the spinward marches is grav bike knights, famous for its color and pomp and ceremony and chivalry and viciously violent action seen from cameras mounted on the helmets and bikes and lance points of the participants. one of the more curious is battle curling, based on the ancient terran "sport" of curling, where the participants not only compete in who gets their stone across the finish line first but also engage each other more directly on the ice with quarterstaves, ranging from hollow plastic poles to heavy oak clubs. not many males play this one but the females seem to love it. this game is more spectated off fornice than on it, probably because ... well, because it's funny to watch them fall on their ass on the ice and chase each other's stones, trying to move their own and hinder their opponent's while thwacking away at each other. also fornice is part of the moran march and for centuries the moran males have come to fornice to participate in the cage fights. so far the moran males have won 51% of the matches but this ratio has been declining for a century. every such fight is accompanied by literally hundreds of thousands of fornys chanting "THIS YEAR THIS YEAR THIS YEAR THIS YEAR ...."
fornice is run by a civil service bureaucracy called the referee board. in general that is exactly what they do - referee the forny competitors in all aspects of their lives. the fornys don't respect their referees - "those who can't do, ref" - but acknowledge the necessity of them. when a corporation gets too big or a university monopolizes certain fields of study or a sports team becomes too dominant or a family becomes too influential and controlling the referees often move to break up the entity to encourage free competition.
fornys consider the rest of the spinward marches to be a little soft, if exciting at times. in the imperial services and merchant marine operations they are always driving very hard to dominate, to win, to win according to the rules, and to win well. they function equally well as lone individuals (though hoping for an audience and feeling free to advertise themselves) and as team players. they tend to be a bit fast-moving, gaudy, and flashy, and proud of it. if other fornys are around they will coalesce into their various homebound factions and teams, including their one big team of fornice in the face of any threat to all of them. females may tend to look for big strapping intelligent males to father children they can bring home to, and show off at, fornice.
many fornys talk openly of the need for psionic games on fornice. the zhodani, however, they view as poisonous vermin that need to be eliminated at every opportunity. in the imperial navy and marines on the zhodani frontier no-one is more attentive to their duties in opposing the zhodani than the citizens of fornice.
some fornys rebel against fornice's materialist competitive environment and leave to form cooperative communes or other non-competitive social structures. in particular are the "formers", fornys who have developed space merchant communes who roam the spinward marches like gypsies, sharing their ships and families as they make their living through non-competitive trade.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Blues? Greens? Competition in everything?
All you're missing is a stadium, and heck even that got done in Pournelle's The Mercenary.
